Words Said & the Spaces Between
by Country Chick-a-dee
Summary: A series of one-shots detailing the brief moments in the lives of the Stark and Winchester families when they came into contact with one another. After all, the Winchesters and Tony Stark as relatives? Now that just sounds like a whole realm of fun. Will mainly be Ironman & Supernatural with some references to Avengers & maybe more down the track.
1. Curiosity

**Summary:** A series of one-shots detailing the brief moments in the lives of the Stark and Winchester families when they came into contact with one another. After all, the Winchesters and Tony Stark as relatives? Now that just sounds like a whole realm of fun.

**AN:** Okay I am taking complete liberties here. I'm going with the film version of things in which case it is impossible at this stage to know the birth years of either Maria Stark or Howard Stark. However, that in all essence is the fun of fanfiction writing: you don't have to play by the rules. Please enjoy these series of snapshots. Reviews and constructive criticism very much appreciated.

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**Words Said & the Spaces Between**

**Curiosity ~**

"Mum? Who's that?"

Maria Stark glanced up and felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Mum?"

Her young son tore his eyes from the stranger, glancing up at his mother's face questioningly but Maria could only see the man before her, standing solemnly at the gates of the Stark estate.

"Mum!" Tony tugged insistently at her skirt. Her young son had never appreciated being ignored. He received that treatment enough from his father and Maria couldn't help but tear her eyes away at his plea. Tony was a demanding child who was always getting into all sorts of mischief and a certain amount of refusal to give in to his attention seeking antics had always been necessary when dealing with him but not to the level Howard took it at times.

She knelt before her four year old son, meeting his solemn brown eyes - her eyes, his grandfather's actually and the same eyes he shared with his uncle.

"He's no one darling. Just a stranger who comes by once in a while," she explained.

"Oh, ok," replied Tony.

Appeased by her words, Tony stepped back into the sandbox and picked up his plastic shovel. Maria watched her son a moment, glad he had accepted her explanation so easily but then again, he was only four. One day he'd stop believing in her, stop taking her words as truth. All children did eventually when they realised their parents couldn't fix everything and Tony would probably work that out sooner than most children but that was alright. Her son took after his uncle; he would be able to handle more than most other children the lows that life would chose to fling his way.

Maria glanced back to the gates. The young man was still there, hands thrust into the pockets of his brown leather jacket. There were lines etched deeply into his face and a bowed but strong set to his shoulders. There had always been a lot of weight on those shoulders but when they had last seen each other, those shoulders had been thrust back proudly, bearing the load upon them with ease. In the time since, clearly the load had increased in weight and those shoulders had fallen under it but hadn't broken. There was a stubborn firmness now that would take more than many times the amount resting there now to break it completely.

As she watched, he nodded once in acknowledgement, his dark eyes meeting her own and then he turned and walked away and all the words in her throat, the feelings rising within her chest, melted back into her body. Her eyes felt wet with the sheer relief and yet sadness of it all once he was gone from her sight.

"Goodbye John," she whispered, her words lost upon the cool autumn breeze as she returned her attention to her son. He'd be back, he always came back and she'd still be here, safe and sound and waiting for him.


	2. Was

**Summary:** A series of one-shots detailing the brief moments in the lives of the Stark and Winchester families when they came into contact with one another. After all, the Winchesters and Tony Stark as relatives? Now that just sounds like a whole realm of fun.

**AN:** Should I mention these may or may not be in order? Yeah I probably should. This next one does follow ' ' though so you are safe for now.

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**Words Said & the Spaces Between**

**Was ~**

"Son? There's been an accident."

Tony stared at the man and then looked over to Professor Jones' face. It was blank, just as blank as his own in fact but then again, old Jonesy was known to have an emotional range somewhere around the same level as a rock. If you looked up 'statue' in the dictionary, Tony was almost certain the man would be listed as an example.

Why oh why was Jones the one who'd pulled him aside in the hall and ordered him to his office? Ordinarily such a demand would have been ignored by the teenager but rumour had it Jonesy had been friends with his father back in the day and to ignore his father's friends was to do so at his own peril. Howard Stark had been well known as something of a loner and a bit on the eccentric (if not brilliant) side but what few friends he did have, well as the old saying went: 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' and Howard had always been a great believer in that phrase.

"I'm sorry, who are you again?"

The stranger's visage was grim but there was something else there, some emotion Tony couldn't place.

"I'm John. John Winchester," he said. "Your mother…" John hesitated, searching for the right words. Finally he pulled in a deep breath and continued, "Your mother was my sister."

Tony blinked. Huh. Okay. Well he could deal with that. A long lost uncle? Yeah he could see it he admitted reluctantly to himself. John was about the right age, probably younger than Maria Stark, his mother. About mid to late-thirties Tony guessed and John was taller than he was by a couple of inches but the dark hair bespoke of his own, the very same shade his mother possessed as well and the colouring was similar too. The eyes, when he looked closely were all his mother's, his too actually: dark with long lashes. And the set of John's mouth, yeah Tony knew where he got that from now.

"Okay, um, nice to meet you John, um, Uncle John?"

Tony thrust his hand out. Wow, this was weird but after a moment's hesitation, John shook Tony's hand.

"So, er, why are you here again?" asked Tony, releasing his uncle's hand.

That fleeting look was back in John's eye. Whatever it was, Tony couldn't place it but it hardly mattered. His mind clicked and suddenly he understood.

"_Your mother was my sister…" _

"…_was my sister…" _

"…_my Sister…" _

"…_was…"_

"…_was…" _

"…_was…" _

Past tense. His strong suit wasn't English but he knew what 'past tense' meant.

John was saying something but Tony couldn't hear him. There was a buzzing in his ears. A very loud buzzing. Man, he couldn't think!

His parents were flying home today. It's been almost two weeks since they'd left for some conference thing in Germany. He had ordered their cook to prepare his mother and father's favourite meal for when they arrived home tonight. Their flight had taken off barely three hours ago.

John's lips continued to move and he was reaching out. His uncle was saying a word, repeating it. His name? Probably.

Tony moved backwards, his feet taking him away from John and Professor Jones and towards the office door. He had to leave; he had to get out of here. God! _Where was the damn door handle?_ he thought as his hand scrabbled for it. Finally he found it and then he was gone, leaving Jones, leaving his uncle and just getting the hell out of there.

He didn't hear the sounds of footsteps following; at least he thought he didn't. It was hard to tell with the buzzing in his ears and the disgruntled protests of his fellow students as he shoved them aside. He needed air, needed it like he needed to erase those words from his mind but they just weren't leaving.

"_Your mother was my sister…" _

He found the stairs, finally! There was the door to the roof. He burst through it like a bullet tearing through a target and out into the August sunshine.

"…_was my sister…" _

Tony knelt on the concrete roof and screamed, agony ripping out of him from the depths of his soul.

His parents were dead.

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**AN: **Yeah I'm a meanie. At least I avoided using the word "pure". Hurray! It would be the ultimate sin to use "pure agony" considering how many times I read it and think about how much I never want to read it again. It's such an over used expression.

Extra points to anyone who works out who Professor Jones is.


End file.
